In a study published recently in the journal Physiology & Behavior an international team of researchers examined
whether cats living in multi-cat households are more stressed than cats housed
singly. Many media outlets responded to the study with an incorrect
interpretation of the results and published such as "Cats Hate to be
Stroked." The co-author Rupert Palme of the Institute of Medical
Biochemistry at the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, explains:
"As a matter of fact, the majority of the cats enjoyed being stroked. Only
those animals that did not actually like to be stroked, but nevertheless
allowed it, were stressed."